Castles in the Sky
by Lycanwolff
Summary: Tetsuya wasn't a frontliner, he knew that, even accepted it, but after that fateful night where the Seven Sons of the Seven Kings had earned their freedom, he had wondered what it was like to dance at the edge of space. It was only ever meant to be a wish, until Taiga Kagami granted it. (Small companion piece to accompany my fic On Angels Wings!)


**Author's Note: This can be read as a companion piece to my fic, _On Angels Wings,_ or as a stand alone piece. A quick one-shot requested by Waterbendingwitch for some KagaKuro fluff, so here you go! Title inspired by the song _Castles in the Sky._**

 **Castles in the Sky**

There was nothing more beautiful than a night sky barely set aglow by the flames of a fire, how the moon hung full and fat and shone like solid silver against the unending blackness. It was a familiar view, one that always brought solace and peace, as it was the same night sky they had all seen when The Farm had gone up in a blaze of purifying glory. It seemed so long ago, such a distant memory, but to the Seven Sons of the Seven Kings and their friends, time had allowed them to look back on it and instead of finding sadness, they were able to smile.

All sat around their large campfire, huddled with their partners as the Angelika camp buzzed and mumbled as everyone enjoyed the evening. Supper had been consumed with laughter and joy, with the children playing and the others finding time to spend with their loved ones. It was an evening that brought them calm, an ease that all relished in, and as the hour grew late, the children hopping off to bed, the rest sat and enjoyed the heat provided by the fire.

"Oh no... No no no... At no time during those four months, was Murasakibara ever legitimately mad. You people haven't seen anything yet!" Daiki laughed out loud, his arm slung over Satsuki's shoulders as they enjoyed the natural flow of evening's conversation.

"Are you kidding me? He lifted both you, and Wakamatsu up by your shirts! How is that not angry?" Teppei reeled, smiling wide both arms over Riko's shoulders, whom was contentedly sitting between his knees.

"That was mildly irritated. If you ever actually wanna see him mad, take his candy." Daiki said as Satsuki played with one of his primary feathers of his midnight colored wings.

"Yeah... Lets talk about how you did that... Once." Taiga chimed in, holding up a single finger and not looking at the mortified look in Daiki's eyes.

"He took my sucker when we were little... Greedy bastard deserved it." Atsushi said with very little emotion as he enjoyed one of those very candies that Himuro had given him to keep him occupied while he preened the Titan's wings.

The others laughed at the overly exaggerated horror on Daiki's face, even Satsuki chuckled despite his playful glare. Even he was having trouble containing his snickers and they all knew it, as shortly after, he started to laugh at his own expense.

"You guys remember that time Midorima tried to take me on in the arena? How he got all cocky and careless?" Teppei said, the laughter around them dying down as he spoke.

"You didn't, Shin-Chan! Did you win?" Takao yelped as he looked up into those very emerald eyes and leaned further into his side.

"I very much did, but I didn't win. Kiyoshi pinned me and then threw me down into the lake. It was before I was captured and found you." Shintarō said, pushing up his glasses as he leaned back against the large log for support so Takao had a place to nuzzle against his chest.

"The cheeky bastard threw enough razors to make an outline of me in the cavern walls." Teppei grinned.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Takao chuckled, but it only got worse when he was viciously attacked with tickles.

No one could hold back their laughter as Shintarō ravaged Takao's sides with tickles, how the smaller Hawk-wing curled into himself and tried to protect his side, but to no avail. He had flopped over away from leaning against the Razor-wing's chest, but not even that had been enough to stop Shintarō from leaning over him to continue his assault.

Their laughter bled up into the night sky, but for one of them, one of the Seven Sons of the Seven Kings, it was lost as he stared up into that very night sky.

Tetsuya Kuroko, the smallest and probably most obscure of the Seven Sons, sat next to Taiga with his knees curled into his chest and his sky blue wings against his back. He just stared up with his big cerulean eyes, watching the stars flicker and dance, how the silver light of the moon wasn't nearly enough to erase them from his sight. Ever since that night, that fateful night that finally released them from their fear, he had felt distant, separated from those he loved. As the son of the Shadow King, he was used to being in the background, but ever since that night, he felt invisible.

Releasing a soft sigh, Tetsuya stood, not even drawing attention as he stepped away from the fire's light and headed for the cliff nearby. Without the orange glow, the night sky was even more brilliant, and it was his only chance to imagine just what the top of the world looked like. He was jealous of Taiga and Daiki, how they had gotten to see it, watch their world glow beneath them like gods in the sky, and every night since, he had dreamed of it. He wasn't strong enough to reach such heights, was barely strong enough to go as high as Murasakibara; The largest of them, but with his imagination, he would try.

Reaching the cliff's edge, Tetsuya sat down, dangling his legs over the side as he just stared up and watched. A star, a single glow of light streaked across the sky and in that moment, he made a wish.

"Hey... What's eating you?"

The sudden voice startled him, as he hadn't been expecting anyone to have taken notice that he had left, but when he looked back over his shoulder, one of those very loved one's was standing there with his large two toned crimson wings tucked proudly against his back.

"Hey, Kagami-kun... It's nothing. Just stargazing." Tetsuya said, near mumbled as he looked back up towards the night sky.

"I don't really believe you." Taiga said, taking the last few steps and sitting down next to his partner.

Tetsuya shrugged, "I didn't think anyone noticed that I left. I didn't mean to disturb your evening, Kagami-kun." He said, taking his eyes away from the sky to look at the much larger boy next to him.

"How could I not notice my partner walking off? I'm more attentive than you think." Taiga said with a crooked smirk.

Tetsuya returned the smile, but instead of finding words, he looked back up towards the sky he longed for. He wanted it, to touch it, to smell it, to feeling it against his skin, but without wings like Taiga's, it would always remain out of reach.

"What's wrong?" Taiga asked, drawing the focus back into Tetsuya's eyes.

"I wanna see it. I wanna see what it's like up there." Tetsuya finally admitted, but continued to look up.

"See what? The sky?" Taiga asked as he studied Tetsuya's face.

Tetsuya nodded, "Yes... Ever since that night we won against The Farm, I've been jealous of you and Aomine-kun. I'm supposed to be your partner, your support, but I've yet to see what you saw." He said with a slight hanging of his head as he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Tetsu-... You've been upset that I took Daiki up that high?" Taiga asked, his brows lightly furrowed as he rested a hand down on Tetsuya's shoulder.

Tetsuya nodded, "Yes... I wanna see it, Kagami-kun."

Taiga drew in a deep breath as Tetsuya opened his eyes and set them on him, seemingly gazing into his very soul with how big and round his eyes were. The night sky sparkled and reflected in their hues and made them twinkle just like stars themselves. He hadn't realized it until he saw hints of it, but within that gaze of sadness and envy, he couldn't resist.

"I think Wakamatsu's got a tank, but I don't think we have a carry vest around here." Taiga said lowly as he took his hand away from Tetsuya's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not expecting it." Tetsuya said before looking back up.

"Too bad. Stay here."

Before Tetsuya could protest, Taiga was on his feet and jogging back towards their encampment, leaving him to wonder if perhaps, his wish was coming true. Taiga had never been one to think before he acted, but on the few times he did, they were always meaningful. Taiga may not have been the smartest of them, or the kindest, but when it came to those close to his heart, he would lift up the world.

A few minutes passed before Taiga returned, carrying a small oxygen tank with a breather mask attached by a hose. His assumption had been right, and as he set it down next to Tetsuya, Taiga began to grin.

"Come on... Suit up." Taiga said firmly and with a lazy backhand to Tetsuya's arm.

Tetsuya couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face as he pushed himself up. With the cooling weather of a fast approaching fall, the nights were much cooler, resulting in many of them wearing long sleeves and pants to keep warm, but for Taiga, he had removed his sweatshirt in favor of his low backed muscle shirt to allow his unique wings the range to move freely. He was a Cloud Walker, his wings the only one of their kind and as he helped him put on the tank and strap it on, Tetsuya placed the mask over his nose and mouth and nodded.

Both spread their wings and lifted off into the night, the silence of it soothing in a way. Taiga kept it slow, using his wings as a single unit with the secondary set pressed against his larger primaries to make it appear as if he had only one set. He evenly flapped as both rose into the sky, but too soon, Tetsuya slowed from having reaching his ceiling and hovered.

 _"Here's as far as I go, Kagami-kun."_ Tetsuya said through the radio in the mask, knowing it had reached Taiga's ears from the earpiece he had put in.

Taiga merely turned down, hovering with strong beats of his wings as he extended a hand.

 _"Then I'll carry you."_ He said simply through his own comms.

Tetsuya smiled beneath the mask and took Taiga's hand, where he was suddenly yanked up and brought to his large chest. Taiga wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight and with it, the heat of his body radiated through his clothes to help keep him warm. Taiga was radiating with heat and ever since his wings had split in two that fateful night, his body temperature always increased when he readied himself to reach the sky.

Still with his wings as a single unit, and with Tetsuya close against his body and in his arms, Taiga downbeat hard and shot skyward, flying straight up as he sucked in huge lungfuls to power his wings. The feet dropped away from beneath them and far faster than Tetsuya had ever seen, they had reached the limit of Taiga's single set of wings.

He had never gotten see it, see how they split in two and without even a stutter in his beats, Taiga's wings separated into their two sets. The smaller set trailed behind the main set's beats by just a fraction of a second, but with the second set now is use, their ascension doubled.

They climbed so fast, so hard that Tetsuya was forced to close his eyes, burying his face into Taiga's chest to shield his skin from the wind's onslaught. Taiga's arms tightened around him, holding him even closer and he couldn't help, but clutch small fistfuls of his muscle shirt. He had never been so high before, never been completely at someone's elses mercy, but he knew and trusted Taiga, and knew, beyond a Shadow of a doubt, that he wouldn't let go.

The air was cold, freezing even, but the warmth radiating from Taiga's body helped keep it back. His eyes were still closed, still squeezed shut, but when a gentle tap rapped against his temple, Tetsuya began to realize how quiet it was.

The only sound he could hear was the gulping breaths of Taiga's lungs beneath his ear, how his heart thumped hard and steady. They were calming sounds, rhythmic and easy, and with another gentle tap, he finally lifted his head and opened his eyes.

At first, he didn't see anything, but the crimson looking back at him with their split brow crown, how they were oddly gentle and soft, half lidded and with still lashes. He took breaths through an open mouth, like a fish gulping down water to wet their gills, but when he looked away, towards a massive swatch of green, blue and brown, Tetsuya had his breath ripped away.

Below him sparkled a globe so vast, so round that he felt like a god peering down on a marble. It was smeared with huge runs of white clouds, swirling in their invisible currents and the stars above no longer twinkled. They shone so brightly, so vividly that he swore they were gems, perfect and hung against black velvet to make them shine more. The moon was so big, so round that it was almost like a window into another universe and when he looked back to meet Taiga's gaze, he finally found his breath again.

 _"I know you can't talk, but listen ok?"_ Tetsuya asked, leaning further into Taiga's hold for more warmth.

Taiga gulped down more air, but nodded as his powerful wings kept them suspended at the edge of oblivion.

 _"I-I... I know I'm not meant to be a frontliner, but showing me this, showing me something that I never thought I would see, means more to me than anything."_ Tetsuya said, wishing that Taiga could see his smile, but knew he understood from the look in his eyes.

Taiga gulped again, but his lips smiled back and it even reached his eyes that glimmered.

 _"Thank you, Kagami-kun... Thank you for showing me the world."_

Tetsuya didn't know how to react, but when Taiga bowed his head to bring their foreheads together, his breath stuttered behind the mask. He refused to close his eyes, never wanted the sight before him to fade away, so he didn't, and instead, fell into an ocean, suspended at the edge of space.

* * *

Everyone had to admit that spying was fun, especially when the two that they were observing had no idea they were there. They had known something was up once Taiga had gotten up to go find Tetsuya and once the Cloud Walker was out of ear shot, Daiki had voiced up that he had smelt something curious.

Now, having abandoned their fire to stare up at the night sky at the edge of the cliff, they were snickering and getting ready to dish out a ration of shit once the Shadow-wing and the Whisper-wing came back down from heaven.

"Oh! Oh!... There! Do you see it!" Takao squealed as he thrust his arm up towards the sky, pointing at a tiny speck of light that hung just that little bit too low to be a star.

The others followed his finger up, scanning the area for that tiny fleck, but soon, it fell under all their gazes. The Hawk-wing, with his eyes shimmering amber, had spotted them in their castle in the sky.

"That tiny little fleck is them?" Daiki snickered, holding Satsuki back against his chest with his arms over her shoulders.

"Yes!... Gods, I'd say they were at 85, maybe even 86,000 feet. They're right at the edge." Takao said, grasping Shintarō's forearms that had wrapped lovingly around his shoulders.

"Shouldn't be too long now until they come down. Kagami can't hang too long." Wakamatsu said, his arms crossed as he just stared up.

"We'll see." Takao lowly chuckled.

"I don't like that look, Bakao... Let alone that snicker." Daiki arced a brow and glared.

"I don't need your nose to know." Takao smiled as he looked up to meet Shintarō's endearing gaze.

"This nose is gonna be the death of me." Daiki grumbled before burying the very nose into Satsuki's hair.

"No, you're whining about it is gonna be the death of us." Wakamatsu shot back.

"You're an asshole!"


End file.
